


Defensive

by QueenReagan



Category: Best Friends Whenever (TV)
Genre: F/M, cutest couple that never was, cyd doesn't need protecting, except when she does, naldo protects cyd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-16 00:13:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12331659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenReagan/pseuds/QueenReagan
Summary: Even when they're apart, he can't turn his back on her.





	Defensive

**Author's Note:**

> This has been on my computer for months and I never posted it I guess? So if it doesn't make sense, sorry, that might've been the reason xD Hope you enjoy!

He can't watch it. No, no. He can't stand to sit back and watch it happen. 

They're so close, so close. Skin touching, hands pressed against each other. She giggles, her mouth right next to the microphone. Every laugh is a stab in the heart. 

Naldo tightens his hold on his backpack. He sits in the corner of the auditorium, completely engulfed in a dark cloak that the couple didn't notice when they first arrived. He was supposed to meet Barry after school, but he can't bring himself to leave. The last thing he wants to see is his love with someone else, but he can't manage to look away. 

She goes down the line, pressing each piano key with a grin. He makes a noise with each sound, an awful hum that sounds like he's trying to match the note. It's horrendous; Naldo cringes every time. She finds it humorous, though. She comments how bad it is, but giggles and encourages him for another go.

It's sickening. 

There's a few spotlights left on stage from theater practice. They light up her smile even more. Naldo's chest swells when she smiles, even still. 

The boy advances toward her. Naldo sits up straighter. Her smile falls, only a little. 

He tries to kiss her. Naldo clenches the bag even tighter. 

She turns her head, brushing her hair out of her face. 

“I'm still not ready.” 

The breath catches in his throat. She's not ready.

She smiles sadly up at the boy. “Sorry.” 

“You don't have to be scared. I'm gentle, promise.” He tires to kiss her again. Naldo jumps to his feet. 

He's trying to persuade her.

“I-I'm not scared.” 

The boy knows just what to say. Anybody who's met Cyd knows she hates being called scared. She sees it as a challenge…

… And she never turns down a challenge.

The boy smirks. “Prove it, hotshot.” 

Naldo is storming down the isle, backpack abandoned in the row he was just in. Cyd stares into the boy's eyes, mouth open in a silent protest before he kisses her. He presses their bodies against the piano as his hands slowly glide down her body. Her eyes are open and wide. She's scared. 

Naldo pushes himself onto the stage with ease. He grabs the boy by the shoulder and yanks him away. Cyd stares in shock, unable to move. Tears gather in her eyes. Naldo stands in front of her, trembling fists at his sides and shoulders tense.

The boy glowers at Naldo. “What's your deal, man?” he demands. 

“She said no,” Naldo hisses in a cold tone Cyd's never heard before. It chills her bones and makes her shudder. 

“Naldo,” Cyd says, slowly pushing herself to her feet. She walks in front of him and stares. He can feel her eyes on him, but he refuses to look. He keeps his gaze trained on the piece of trash ahead of him. He can't look at Cyd. He knows he'll break if he does. 

A hand grabs his arm. It's soft and small, but firm. It squeezes his arm, almost like a command. Look at me, it says. Look me in the eyes. 

He does. 

“I have things under control,” she says, her voice quivering. “Go away, Naldo.” 

He would do anything for her. Anything, really. He would drive her to IHOP at one in the morning because she wants pancakes. He would let her copy off his science test even though getting caught would result in a zero because he knows she doesn't understand the subject well enough. He would jump in front of a bullet if it meant she could keep on smiling. 

This girl is his life. His world. His everything. If she tells him to do something, he does it. No questions are asked because she says it. She is the only thing that matters. She is his sun, his moon, and everything in between. 

“No.” 

This, however, is the deviation. The loophole in his promise to be committed to her. He will do everything for her except…

Except walk away when she needs his help. 

She didn't say it directly, no. She tries to put on her act, pretend like everything's okay and that she can handle it. She wants to take care of herself. That was the hardest wall Naldo had to break down. This was the reason they broke up in the first place. 

Naldo steps around her. He has tunnel vision. That boy is the only thing he sees. His heart beat is speeding up. He takes a step forward, then another. His opponent stumbles back, falls into the curtain, stares up at Naldo with a crumbling mask of confidence. Naldo towers over him, the light casting a shadow over his angered features. 

He so wants to pummel this guy. Naldo wants to inflict upon him the pain he had planned to give Cyd. The boy planned to hurt Cyd. To take her innocence against her will. Fire burns in Naldo's veins. He grabs the boy by the shirt collar, jerks him to his feet. 

One punch. He just wants to give this guy one punch. To the nose, the gut, the jaw, he doesn't care. This guy shouldn't be able to just walk away. Not after what he just tried to do. Not after what just almost happened. 

Naldo shoves the boy to the ground again. He takes a step back, one, two, until he's put enough distance between himself and that trash. His arm brushes Cyd's. They're close, so close. Skin touching. He doesn't look at her. His stomach is in his throat. His heart is in his ears. The butterflies are back, though he's not sure they ever left. 

“Get out of here,” Naldo orders, his growl echoing throughout the auditorium. “If I catch you anywhere near her…” 

He leaves the threat there. He lets the other guy finish the sentence. 

“Whatever,” the guy mutters, scrambling to his feet. He mutters under his breath, possible insults regarding the other two as he rushes offstage. 

They're left in silence. 

Naldo slowly turns. He meets her eyes. Big, brown, innocent eyes. They're filled with water. His heart drops. Seeing her cry feels like he's being stabbed, over and over and over. He never wants to see her cry. 

Nothing as beautiful as she deserves to ever be in such pain.

“Cyd, I'm so sorry,” he begins, taking her hands in his. She shoves him away, leans on the piano, doesn't look at him. He's rooted to the floorboards, unable to move. 

She turns her head from the microphone. “Do you think I can't handle myself?” she asks quietly, but it speaks volumes. 

“Of course I-”

“Then why did you get in the middle of this?” she demands, turning to him. “I said I had things under control.” 

He opens his mouth and closes it again. This fight seems all too familiar. It's the last conversation they had before everything went down the drain. 

Naldo was too soft then. He didn't want things to end, didn't want them to disappear. He was willing to do anything to save their relationship, even if it meant being the 'yes man,' always agreeing with her. You're right, I'm sorry, you're right, I shouldn't have done that. 

It didn't get them anywhere. 

He narrows his eyes. 

He wants to protect her. Until his last breath, he wants to protect this girl.

“He would've overpowered you.” 

Her eyes widen, only slightly. Then, she's angry again, “I know how to defend myself.” 

She's right. She can sure dish out moves that could easily land someone in the hospital. What did he need to protect her for? Anybody would be insane to so much as argue with her. 

“Not when it comes to teenage boys, Cyd,” Naldo sighs. 

Guess you could say he's insane.

“You're not my boyfriend anymore, so stop trying to protect me all the time.” 

He laughs. It's bitter and ragged, but it fills the room. Cyd squints her eyebrows. Her chest hurts. She misses his laugh. 

“Whether we're together or not, Cyd, I will never stop protecting you. Not until I'm laying on a hospital bed with only minutes of life left will I ever stop. You are brave and incredibly strong, Cyd, but that doesn't mean you have to be alone.”

She stares, stunned silent. 

Naldo walks to the edge of the stage and jumps down. He turns and looks up at her, a sigh escaping his lips. 

“I'll always be here, Cyd. Even if we're fighting and you hate me and I'm so frustrated I can't even look at you, I will never leave you. You need time, I understand. I can wait, it's okay.” 

He begins to walk away, disappearing into the shadows of the audience. She sits on the piano seat once more, hands resting on the white keys. Slowly, she taps a few keys and lets the hums vibrate her fingertips. 

A door slams in the distance. Now, she's completely alone. A tear slips down her face. Then, another. They drip off her chin and splatter against the keys. 

Her sobs echo. Her body quivers. 

She wants him back. 

She needs time. 

But she loves him. 

One day, she'll return to him. 

And he'll be waiting.


End file.
